Book 1 of The Courts of Daemonium.
Alexander 'Xander' Duran, the world's first Lamia, has been in charge of the Courts of Daemonium for decades. After being turned into a shadow-wielding, blood-thirsty Daemon in 1649 by Lilith, his only purpose in h...
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Adriana enjoyed being at Duran Manor. She had known it was a beautiful house when she had visited Divina as a child, and she had seen some of its new charm at the ball. And though she had passed it on rides round the lake while Xander had been gone, she hadn't been able to appreciate the beauty of it in the daytime until now.
Xander had offered the use of his home to train, knowing Adriana would need somewhere to rest quickly if she used too much power. Her strength in her light was growing day by day, but every now and then she tipped over the edge and her control slipped. Those occurrences were usually a result of them arguing again, which in turn regularly ended with Xander kissing her to calm her mind and letting her rest in his study before they'd continue with her defence and dagger lessons. But he had never taken it further, not since weeks ago in the barn.
Adriana had gotten to know Xander's brothers, Deion Daktari and Edward Paul, quite well over the weeks she'd been visiting, doing her best to convince them to share embarrassing stories about Xander and learning about their unique powers. Deion was a Medici, his brand a strange marking on his shoulder that resembled some sort of lotus flower, whilst Edward was a Somnum, his brand resembled something similar to a dreamcatcher on his forearm. She had also spent time with their children, playing games where she would send bubbles from the lake for them to catch or sprouting flowers across the ground they walked. Lucien, a quiet boy with dark hair and brown skin, was a Somnum. Dreigo, who looked strikingly similar to Deion and was the most confident of the three, and Ana, their troublesome daughter, were Medicis. Although they were second generation Lamiae, their powers were weak due to their young age and would likely never fully develop. She bonded the best with Ana, who had even begun to accompany Xander in the mornings when he came to collect Adriana from Amara House.
One morning, Xander came alone. Adriana stood from the bench in her gardens where she had sat reading one of Striga's books, brushing her skirt down and checking her shirt was tucked in. He tilted his head to read the cover, before raising his eyebrow at her choice of reading.
"Tales of Daemonium?" Xander asked. "If there is anything you want to know you need only ask. I am not sure a novel for children is the best way to learn."
She rolled her eyes at him as she dropped the book on the bench and walked to meet him.
"It is information in the form of short stories from Striga. She gave it to me for my tenth birthday to learn more about, well, everything. Some of the stories are about you, very heroic stories, I might add."
"Well then, you should definitely be asking me, so I can correct you whenever Striga labels me a hero."
He reached his hand out for her which she took, and they descended down toward the lake. He wore his leather gloves and high-collared coat whenever he came to collect each morning, but by the time they'd begin her training outside his manor they'd usually be off. Xander knew she enjoyed the sight of his dark markings, and although he couldn't understand why, it always brought a smile to his face when he noticed her eyes wandering his body.
